


Make a Run

by perniciousLizard



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Embedded Images, Gen, Gift Exchange, Jogging, Mental Health Issues, Minor Alphys/Undyne, POV Papyrus, Self-Esteem Issues, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 12:44:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15171029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perniciousLizard/pseuds/perniciousLizard
Summary: Summary: Alphys is lacking in self confidence, and Papyrus is just the skeleton to help!





	Make a Run

**Author's Note:**

> I was drundertalescum's secret santa in the summer event. Special thanks to undertalesecretsanta for running the event! 
> 
> Also a shout out to the random text faking website I used. If the texts are confusing in image form, there’s a transcript of the contents directly below them. If for some reason they don't work, just drop me a comment and I'll fix 'em.

Toriel’s home was Papyrus’ home away from home, so the apartment where Undyne and Alphys lived was obviously his home away from his home away from home.  Still, it wasn’t his home-home, so he mustered up all the politeness he held within his skeletal body - it was a considerable amount! - and rang the doorbell for the third time instead of barging in.

Alphys was inside, theoretically waiting for him.  But she was often distracted by scientific research or fantastic feats of engineering.  Or, of course, her baby cartoon shows.  He would give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she was on the verge of curing some terrible disease.  He probably should not interrupt something so important, but they had an appointment and, well…as much as he wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, he was almost positive she was crying over the tragic life choices of some brightly colored anime character.

He tapped his foot and waited a few more minutes.  No response.  He could call, but she only answered the phone one time out of ten.  She was better with texting.

  
  


[Papyrus: TWO!  FOUR! SIX!  EIGHT!

Papyrus: WHO DO WE APPRECIATE!

Alphys: oh shoot. hi papyrus!!  uh, me?

Papyrus: ALPHYS! ALPHYS!  (ALSO PAPYRUS)  ALPHYS!

Alphys: omg i’m so sorry i just couldn’t hear the bell at all from here sorry sorry i’ll be right there!!!  v.v

Papyrus: TEN! TWELVE! FOURTEEN! SIXTEEN!

Papyrus: I DON’T THINK YOU’RE RUDE OR MEAN!

Alphys: the SMART thing would be to set an alarm on my phone since it never freaking leaves my sight. it’s basically GLUED to my claws!!! but!!! guess what i keep forgetting? =^.^=

Alphys: go me! ^.^ guess who it is! it’s the Ever Brilliant Dr Alphys!!! ^.^ ^.^ ^.^

Papyrus: EIGHTEEN! TWENTY! TWENTY-TWO! TWENTY-FOUR!

Papyrus: IT’S COMPLETELY FINE! JUST GET THE DOOR

Alphys: Are you going to keep doing that? There are like infinite numbers

Alphys: well i mean do what you want i guess?]

 

Papyrus heard the door unlock.  It slowly creaked open and Alphys peeked through the crack.  She was sweating heavily, from nerves, her phone clutched in hand.  

[Papyrus: TWENTY-SIX! TWENTY-EIGHT! THIRTY! THIRTY-TWO!

Papyrus: I AM HAPPY TO MEET YOU SO I CAN PROPERLY GREET YOU?

Alphys: Hi, Papyrus! =^_^= I’m ready! Really not on time at all, but…oh well!

Papyrus: HELLO ALPHYS! EVERYONE MAKES SMALL ERRORS OF THIS KIND. EVEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAS PROBABLY BEEN LESS EARLY THAN USUAL AT SOME POINT IN MY LIFE. WE CAN ONLY STRIVE TO BE BETTER!

Alphys: i will do better! I WILL!]

 

She wasn’t wearing her workout gear, but her sweatpants and stained anime t-shirt would not work terribly as running clothes.  She took her sweatband out of her inventory and equipped it.  He was not sure its exact stats, but she did not like exercising without it.  Papyrus was not one to underestimate the power of dressing properly to help meet a goal.  

They ran for a few blocks and then Alphys stopped, doubled over and panting.  

Papyrus ran circles around her.  "AMAZING!  YOU ARE THREE FEET FURTHER THAN WHERE YOU STOPPED LAST TIME I TRAINED YOU!“

He wanted to up her training schedule, but everyone was too busy.  It had to be possible to make time, somehow, but even  _he_  was struggling.  

Papyrus’ calendar had transformed from the days when he just listed his training sessions with Undyne and drew happy skulls and hearts around the already listed dates of Mettaton’s live performances.  

Now, he was continually developing an elaborate code that let him fit more items onto the official MTT calendar he insisted on continuing to use.  The pages were covered in multicolored boxes and arrows.  Sans said it looked like a rainbow exploded inside a box of alphabet magnets. Papyrus told him that if he was understandably curious about Papyrus’ schedule, he should think of it as a puzzle.  

Alphys stood up again, as straight as she was capable of, and wiped sweat off her face with a handkerchief.  She apologizes to the anime character decorating the cloth before shoving it away.  

"You just n-never lose your breath, d-do you, Papyrus?” she asked.  "I thought I would be stronger by now.“

"THE GREAT PAPYRUS NEVER LOSES ANYTHING!”  He jogged in place next to her. “ALSO I DO NOT HAVE LUNGS."  

"Oh!  Right. Eheh."  

"YOU ARE STRONGER, ALPHYS!  EVEN IF THE RUNNING IS STILL VERY DIFFICULT, I CAN TELL YOU ARE STRONGER IN SPIRIT.”

“Am I?” She brightened.  "Things were hard, since…“  She trailed off, and her expression slowly fell.  "I have to be strong to face what I did.  Is it weird that I wish…I could be weaker?  B-because then that would mean I never…I never…”  Her voice was soft.  "…never mind.“

"WE CAN ONLY MOVE FORWARD FROM THE POINT WE ARE AT NOW!  I THINK."  

"God.  Let’s just run some more.”  She drank a little water and they continued.  

“EVERY STEP IS A STEP FORWARD!  TO BECOMING A BETTER PERSON!”  That seemed to be what was on her mind, so Papyrus wanted to encourage her.  Anyone could be a good person, if they tried.  

“Every step…is a step forward.”  She repeated, quiet.

She stopped again after a while.  They had gone a comparatively impressive distance, this time.  "Maybe I shouldn’t go forward!“  She tried to catch her breath.  "I…I don’t deserve it, Papyrus!  That takes me away from what I did, and, and, I can’t do that!  I have to keep taking responsibility, and…keep caring."  

Papyrus frowned. "YOU DON’T KEEP MOVING FORWARD THAT WAY.  THAT WOULD BE LIKE ME LEAVING MY ARM OR LEG BEHIND BEFORE WE WENT JOGGING.”

Alphys was briefly distracted.  "Could you do that?“  

"THAT IS BESIDES THE POINT.  WHATEVER I LEFT BEHIND WOULD STAY WEAK BECAUSE I WAS NOT EXERCISING IT!  IF I COULD EVEN TRY WITHOUT A LEG.  MAYBE I COULD GET A ROBOTIC LEG?  BUT, NO, I DID NOT SPECIFY I WAS LEAVING BEHIND MY LEG AND PUTTING ON A PROSTHETIC."  

"O…kay? So…ok, I think I get what you’re saying.”

Papyrus was glad to hear it.  He had lost track, himself.  "OF COURSE!  MY WISDOM SHINES THROUGH.“

"You’re making my mind stronger by saying confusing things I have to really think about?”

“MY WORDS ARE A PUZZLE!  YOU, THE HAPLESS VICTIM OF MY DEVIOUS BRILLIANCE!"  

"I don’t become a better person by leaving parts of myself behind,  _including_  what I did.  I can’t become better without them.”  She shook her head.  "I think the rest was, um, me distracting you when I asked if you could literally detach your arm and leave it? That’s…my best theory, for that?“

"WOWIE!  YOU ARE ON A ROLL, AND SHOULD BE PROUD OF YOUR DEDUCTIVE REASONING.”

“I g-guess.” She took a few steps like she was going to start to jog again, and then stopped.  "Can we just, um, run for a little while?  Without yelling?  I know this is supposed to make me…think better of myself, by repeating positive stuff over and over and over until I’m tricked into thinking it’s true.  But, um.  Sometimes it just…reminds me of how not true it is.  Yet!“  she added, with an insistence he was proud of.  "I, um, I honestly hate running, but when we go out like this I get more done the rest of the day?  I think…I should k-keep doing this, even though it’s awful.  But, the rest…”  She trailed off, uncomfortable.  

“HMMM…BUT I THINK IT  _IS_  WORKING.  NOT QUICKLY!  MAYBE IT WILL TAKES MONTHS - YEARS - DECADES?  TO SINK IN!  EVEN THEN, YOU MIGHT NOT TRULY BELIEVE IT, DEEP DOWN!  BUT YOU WILL  _BE_  A BETTER PERSON.”

“I just think that’s dishonest?”  She looked up at him and briefly met his eye sockets.  "I’m trying to be honest.  I don’t like who I am when I lie, even just to myself!“

"IS IT A LIE?  IT WOULD BE TRUE!  IF YOU SAY ‘I, ALPHYS, TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT I DID’ AND YOU ACT IN WAYS THAT SOMEONE WHO HAS TAKEN RESPONSIBILITY WOULD ACT, THEN YOUR DEEP INNER SELF-DOUBT IS THE LIE, NOT YOUR WORDS!”

“…huh.”

“LET US CONTINUE OUR RUN!  AND OUR YELLING!”

“I…guess.”

“THE P IN PAPYRUS STANDS FOR PERSPICACIOUS!  THE A IN ALPHYS STANDS FOR….”

She waited.  

“PSSST.  ALPHYS.  THAT WAS YOUR CUE.”

“Oh!  Oh. That’s what we’re doing.  Um, the A stands for – ”

“LOUDER!  SAY IT WITH FEELING!  LET THE WORLD KNOW WHAT 'A’ STANDS FOR!”

She tried again, a little louder.  It was good enough.  "Um…….the A stands for…um…alive!“

Papyrus was quiet, thinking it over.  He knew they were taking small steps, but that was a little too close to the bare minimum.  "THAT IS FINE, BUT…I KNOW!  I HAVE HEARD YOU CALLED ANALYTICAL.  YOU ARE ALSO QUITE AFFABLE!  AMAZING!  AWE-INSPIRING, EVEN!"  

"Assertive?” She snorted.  

“YES!  MUCH BETTER.”

“I…actually liked my first one.  Like, I’m here, still?  It’s…a place to start, I think.  A!  Alive!  L!  uh….Literate!”

“WE COULD POSSIBLY PUSH THAT ONE A LITTLE FURTHER, AS WELL."  

"P!  Pretty ok, sometimes!”

“PERCEPTIVE!”

“H! …Healing!”

“THAT ONE IS ACTUALLY QUITE GOOD.”  He ran backwards, watching her.  

“Y…I’m young, still, so I can still change?  All right.  And…S.  I guess I’m smart, about… _some_  things."  

"ALSO, SINCERE. STRONG!  STRIVING TOWARDS IMPROVEMENT!  TOWARDS GREATNESS!"  

"Striving?” She smiled.  "I think I like that one.“

"THE REST ARE ALL ALSO TRUE,” Papyrus said.  He really believed it.  Undyne had seen that inner strength, he was sure, and that was why she found it so easy to love her.

They made it all the way to the ice cream shop - a rarity with Alphys’ stamina limitations.  

Papyrus volunteered to buy them both milkshakes.  Alphys ordered hers to go, since having a stomach meant that drinking ice cream immediately after running was a risk in ways Papyrus did not want to hear described.  There were times - all times, really, but especially moments like those - when Papyrus was relieved to be a skeleton.  What was the point of having all those organs if sometimes they just rejected what was inside them?  He did not say that out loud.  Everyone was made differently, and it was important to respect that.  At least out loud.  

“I AM VERY PROUD OF THE IMPROVEMENT YOU SHOWED TODAY,” Papyrus said.  He also would not say out loud that he was  _relieved_  as well as proud.

Papyrus wanted to help her.  He had promised Undyne, and he had a responsibility since he said he was going to try.  The long gaps between their sessions weighed on him.  He tried to shuffle his schedule and make room, but time and time again he had let something else take priority.  

“Th-thank you.  I wasn’t…”  She trailed off.  "Anyway, thank you.“ He assumed she had been about to say something negative about herself.  He was again proud of her for stopping.  

"IT IS PLEASURE TO HELP!"  

Alphys sipped her water and stared at the bright pink contents of her to-go order.  The hot and humid air hit the cold of the plastic cup and water dripped slowly down the side.  She nodded, and opened her mouth to say something else, but closed it again.  

"YOU HAVE HAD A GREAT DEAL ON YOUR MIND.”  Papyrus folded his hands in front of him.  

“I g-guess I…said a lot today.  I can’t believe myself.”  She closed her eyes. “Oh my god, lately, it’s like there’s only so much room in my head, but I just keep p-packing in more and more until I’m going to…I don’t know.”  She took a deep breath and slowly let it out.  "So I g-guess I tried to unload some of them on you."

"THAT IS WHY I AM HERE.”  The head of a skeleton had plenty of space for excess thoughts, without all the unnecessary other things people kept in there.  

“S-so, you don’t mind?”  She got a straw and took a sip of her milkshake.  

He shook his head, vigorously.  "…HOWEVER.  IT WAS ONLY THREE MINUTES AGO THAT YOU SAID DRINKING A MILK SHAKE WOULD MAKE YOU SICK TO YOUR STOMACH. I AM OF COURSE HERE TO SUPPORT YOUR DECISIONS, BUT DRINKING THAT MIGHT BE ONE THAT IT WOULD BE BETTER IF I DID NOT THROW IN  _ALL_  MY SUPPORT FOR.“  

"I feel okay-ish?  It just always melts before I get home, and it isn’t the same if you try to refreeze it.  I, uh, usually just leave it for Undyne to microwave when she gets back from work."  

"I UNDERSTAND.”  He picked up the plastic menu at the side of the table and opened it up between them.  As a shield.  

“I think I’m - ” she broke off and peered at him over the menu.  "Are you ordering?“  Her eyes widened and she covered her face with her hands.  "Oh my g-god, Papyrus, maybe I’ll feel a little sick if I drink too much, but I had  _one_  sip and throwing up isn’t…it’s not like  _sneezing_."  

He adjusted the menu so it better blocked her face.  "OF COURSE NOT.”  Sneezing partially came from the nose.  He was a master of anatomy, and not nearly as ignorant as Alphys was implying.  Undyne considered it an achievement - a mark that she had pushed herself to her limits - if she puked after working out.  Papyrus briefly mourned a younger Papyrus who had the naivete Alphys saw in him.  

Alphys covered her mouth, like she was trying not to laugh.  "I’ll have like two more sips.  You probably have to get back to work, right?"

"NOT IMMEDIATELY.”  He always scheduled a little extra time in case she suddenly was able to run all the way to the more distant ice cream parlor.  He peered around the menu and watched her take another sip of her drink.  "SO THERE IS NO NEED TO RUSH.  PLEASE DO NOT RUSH.“  

"You know, this really reminds me of a scene in Princess Striker where she runs into the enemy she defeated three episodes ago and -”

Her words started to wash over Papyrus.  He did not know the characters.  "I SEE,“ he said, once, but she did not really need his encouragement to continue.  Had he remembered to bring his entire mascot costume for the meeting he was going to after this?  Of course he had!  His memory was flawless!  …he would check anyway, once they were done.

”-of course it was crepes and not ice cream, and you’re Undyne’s friend, not my…“ Alphys tipped down the edge of the menu.  "Am I rambling again? I am, aren’t I?  You don’t care about this.”

Papyrus rapidly tried to put together the plot she had been describing from the few words he actually listened to.  "WHAT ARE CREPES?" Crocheted grapes?  Context said it had to be a food.

"What.  Uh. No.  It’s a thin pancake with all sorts of sweet stuff wrapped inside it!”

“I SEE!  OF COURSE I WAS LISTENING.  I WAS DISTRACTED BECAUSE I DID NOT KNOW THE FOOD YOU MENTIONED.”  He nodded.

“…yeah. Sorry for making you listen to that.  I know you don’t watch anime.”

“WELL, I APPRECIATE YOUR NOSTALGIC ATTACHMENT TO CHILDREN’S MEDIA,” Papyrus said.  Some of the things he enjoyed could be mistaken for children’s things, like a few of the books he read.  Fluffy Bunny was obviously intended for all ages to enjoy, since he had rarely seen a child reading it without an adult also there with them, but not everyone understood that.  

“It’s NOT all for kids!” she protested.  "Some of it–" she broke off.  ”…no, n-never mind.  We both need to get back, not listen to me keep talking about this.“  He noticed her claws digging into the edge of the table.  It was very difficult for her to not defend anime.  

She took her final sip of milkshake and got out her phone.  "Do you want a ride back to your car?” she asked.  She pushed a few buttons, sending her car on its own way to pick her up.

“NO THANK YOU.”  He usually managed to make it back to her apartment before she did.  He loved driving, but city driving barely counted.  The wind did not flow through his hair when he was sitting boxed in at a stop light.  The fumes from other cars got in his eye sockets and made them water.

He thought that he might have insulted her by not talking glowingly of her cartoons.  He did appreciate that they were important to her, but between her and Undyne, if he was not careful, he would be drawn into an animated web he could not escape from.  He had to find a careful balance between appreciation for their passion and actual interest.  Or he would be lost.

She thanked him for helping out, and he suggested she find time to run between their sessions.  She told him that sounded like a good idea, and then laughed like it was a joke.  That was not an encouraging response.  Papyrus considered sending her texts with positive messages in the morning to make up for the large breaks, and possibly wake her up early enough to go running.  He would surprise her tomorrow with one, and see how it went.  

The drive to his meeting was tedious until he hit a clear spot on the highway and let the top down on his convertible.  The wind rushed through the mascot costume he’d changed into before leaving Alphys’.  His phone buzzed, and it was agony but he had to ignore it until he pulled off the highway and stopped at a gas station.  It was a text, from Alphys.  

[Alphys: um sorry about this but

Alphys: papyrus…we’re friends, right?]

 

Papyrus stared at his phone.  Inside his skull, he had two lists of people he knew - one for potential future friends, and one for current friends. Alphys was penciled in on the second list.  He mentally took out a permanent marker and wrote over her name.  Success!

 

[Papyrus: NYEH HEH HEH HEH! OF COURSE WE ARE FRIENDS! IT IS RIDICULOUS THAT YOU MIGHT THINK OTHERWISE! THERE IS NO REASON FOR YOU TO DOUBT BECAUSE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND.

Alphys: oh! thank you. i know it’s silly, but. uh. well i kind of figured you were undyne’s friend and i was just like…her girlfriend you had to make yourself like hanging out with if you wanted to spend time with her?

Alphys: god that sounds SO insecure i can’t believe myself sometimes

Papyrus: WELL, AS A ONCE POTENTIAL MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD, I CONSIDER IT AN HONOR IF MY FRIENDS APPROACH ME WHEN THEY NEED TO FEEL SECURE.

Papyrus: THERE IS NO NEED TO WORRY! BUT IF YOU MUST, I WILL DO EVERYTHING IN MY CONSIDERABLE POWER TO REASSURE YOU!]

 

They spoke a little longer, and then Papyrus had to get back on the road.  His phone buzzed a few more times, letting him know that she had thought of a few more things to say.  The frequency made him wonder if she had figured out how to compare their situation to her cartoons again.

He did not have as much time as he liked, but he still stopped in the parking lot where his meeting was going to take place and he sifted through her messages.  

[Alphys: OK so i asked not JUST because i’m totally insecure even though lmao i totally am but also because you’re under this misapprehension and that’s FINE it’s FINE that you don’t like anime even if it helped bring undyne and me together and did so much for me

Alphys: it’s FINE and i MEAN that!!!! it’s juuuuust that um i know you babysit frisk like all the time and that’s great but i’m worried that they’re going to say 'hey let’s watch this anime!’ and it’s going to be rated for adults and you’re going to let them because hey it’s a kid thing right???

Alphys: i know you would NEVER do that on purpose but a lot of anime has violence and other stuff that kids shouldn’t see so if they suggest something just find out what the ratings are and double check, ok?

Alphys: I’m writing up a whole thing right now w/ citations on my blog you can look over later i’ll send you a link when i’m done ok?]

 

With some unease, Papyrus typed “OK” and sent it.  Within seconds, she messaged him with a link to the essay she had written in the time he taken to drive from the gas station to his job.  He promised to look it over later.

He clicked on it and gave it a cursory glance as he walked towards the main building.  The number of words and links and images of strange human-ish people with brightly color hair intimidated him.  Still.   Being linked to long boring essays was probably part of what it meant to be Alphys friend, so he found himself happy as he scrolled and scrolled and scrolled down through it.

Later, after Sans read him a story and left to take his own late night nap, Papyrus opened up his phone again.  He read the essay and discovered that it was basically what Alphys had told him, except in many more words and with links to the plots of various shows in case he did not believe her.  He believed her.  

He nodded off a few paragraphs in and woke up to his phone ringing.  He grabbed it before the second ring, and was shocked to find it wasn’t Undyne, Frisk, or the mysterious prankster who always kept calling but would not give his identity.  

“ALPHYS!  THANK YOU FOR CALLING!  I ALMOST WAS TRICKED INTO SLEEPING AND I STILL HAVE SO MUCH SCHEDULED TO DO, TONIGHT!”

“…eep!” She hung up.

A second later, his phone buzzed, and she admitted her claws had hit the wrong button when she was trying to text him.  

  


[Alphys: Did you read it, yet? I didn’t mean to wake you. m(_ _ )m

Papyrus: I HAVE DONE MY PRELIMINARY READ THROUGH BUT HAVE NOT YET COMPLETELY DIGESTED IT.

Papyrus: I DID ACCEPT YOU AT YOUR WORD, EARLIER. THE ESSAY IS IMPRESSIVE, BUT UNNECESSARY? NO CHILD WILL DARE TO WATCH ANIME UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYE OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS!

Alphys: there’s actually a lot of stuff that kids can watch but ok i guess crisis averted?

Alphys: sorry im being insecure again but you said you didn’t mind and i put a lot of work into writing that!!

Papyrus: IT SHOWS AN ADMIRABLE DEDICATION TO THE SAFETY OF CHILDREN

Papyrus: HAVE YOU HAD THAT ON YOUR MIND FOR SOME REASON LATELY? IS THERE SOME SECRET WEIGHING ON YOU THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO REVEAL?

Papyrus: *WINKING EMOJI*

Alphys: OH MY GOD no that’s ***NOT*** what this is!

Alphys: I’M NOT READY FOR THAT PLEASE DON’T SAY THAT TO UNDYNE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Alphys: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Papyrus: DO NOT WORRY! YOUR SECRET IS SAFE WITH ME! MY LIPS ARE SEALED!

Alphys: you don’t even HAVE those!

Alphys: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Alphys: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Papyrus: I AM SENSING SOME DISTRESS]

 

He called her to try and verbally reassure her before she broke his phone just by sending the letter “A.”  It turned out that the letter “A” in Alphys stood for inconsolable screaming in distress about motherhood.  Well. Not everyone was as prepared for potential parenthood as Papyrus.

She did eventually calm down when he mentioned the names of one of the anime whose title he had skimmed over.  It was exceedingly violent, but, as Alphys explained in length, in a  _meaningful_  way.  

After a while, she went quiet.  He was wondering if she had hung up on him when she spoke again.

“Papyrus, you used to be pretty insecure, right?”

“WHAT?  WHAT EVER GAVE YOU THAT IDEA?” he asked, alarmed.  

“I don’t know. It just seems like, um, like maybe you’ve done this confidence build up thing before?  And uh…some of the advice seems…I don’t know. Like it comes from a personal place?  Am I completely off base here?”  She sounded hopeful.  

What did he say to that?  The person he had been once was long gone.  He had carefully covered him up by working to make himself better, every day.  "fake it 'til you make it,“ Sans had told him, once.  Papyrus was not sure what he had been talking about specifically, but the advice had turned out to be relevant in a number of ways.

But Alphys sounded like she  _wanted_ him to be speaking from experience, so that she could have hope that she would too reach such heights as Papyrus now found himself.  

"I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN SURE OF MY OWN WORTH!  IT WAS UNDENIABLE! BUT…THERE WAS A TIME WHEN I WAS LESS SURE AND IT WAS…SLIGHTLY EASIER TO DENY THAN IT IS AT THIS MOMENT.”

“R-right! That’s what I mean.  Not that you’re…like me.”

“SOMETIMES IT IS DIFFICULT TO SEE YOUR OWN WORTH WHEN VERY FEW PEOPLE APPEAR TO GENUINELY CARE FOR YOU."  

”…oh.“

"WHEN WE FIRST ARRIVED IN SNOWDIN, WE DID NOT KNOW ANYONE, OBVIOUSLY.  BUT!  I REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I WATCHED METTATON.  HE WAS VERY POPULAR.  SEXY.  OVERFLOWING WITH SELF CONFIDENCE!”

“Eheh, yeah, that’s Mettaton.”

“AND I REALIZED THAT IF I WANTED TO BE TRULY POPULAR, LIKE HIM, AND MAKE FRIENDS WITH PEOPLE, I ALSO HAD TO BE SEXY AND CONFIDENT!”

“Right."  

"AND LIKE UNDYNE, TOO - SHE IS LOVED AND ADMIRED BY EVERYONE, AND WHAT IS THE TRAIT THAT BOTH SHE AND METTATON SHARE?”

“Confidence?”

“EXACTLY!  SO WHILE I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN GREAT, IT WAS WITH CONSCIOUS EFFORT THAT I BECAME THIS EVEN GREATER SPECIMEN WHO IS LOVED AND ADMIRED BY ALL!”

“Right!  Um.  And you never doubt yourself, anymore?  I mean, if you ever did, you don’t now?”

Again, what could he say to that?  She needed his help.  "OF COURSE I STILL DOUBT MYSELF.  PERFECTION IS SOMETHING TO STRIVE FOR, AND THE MOMENT I THINK I HAVE REACHED IT IS THE MOMENT I HAVE FAILED MYSELF, AND EVERYONE WHO LOOKS UP TO ME.“  He sighed.  "SO IF YOU HEAR YOUR NEGATIVE THOUGHTS, AND BECAUSE OF THEM YOU DECIDE YOU CAN NEVER BE AS GREAT AS PAPYRUS, YOU SHOULD REMEMBER THAT EVEN I STILL HAVE THEM.”

“…I know everyone probably does, sometimes.”

“JUST A LITTLE EARLIER, I DOUBTED MY ABILITY TO HELP YOU, BECAUSE I CANNOT SEEM TO FIND TIME IN MY SCHEDULE TO GIVE YOU THE ATTENTION YOU DESERVE.  BUT, DESPITE THAT, YOU GET BETTER EVERY SINGLE TIME WE MEET.”

“Do I?  Are you…being  _completely_ honest?”

“IT IS NOT ALWAYS BY A LOT, BUT IT IS ALWAYS CLEAR THAT YOU HAVE CHANGED.  I PROMISE."  

”…oh.”  She was quiet for a long time.  “I…d-don’t know what to say to that."

"THERE IS NOTHING THAT NEEDS TO BE SAID.”  He would prefer to stop talking about it, himself.

She sighed.  "Ok. Thank you, Papyrus.“

"GOOD NIGHT, ALPHYS.  

He disconnected the call and set the phone on his rib cage.  It buzzed a minute later. She had sent him one more message, wishing him good night.  He picked up Fluffy Bunny and paged through it until he accidentally lulled himself to sleep.  


End file.
